In a world where the last thing anyone needs is another amateur musician writing songs for church, this is my second week of challenging myself to write a song based on the readings for the upcoming week. So for the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time Year A I looked at the readings but the song only came out of Romans 8:26-27.
Apart from learning to use my version of Finale and forcing myself to think about the readings ahead of times, I would have liked to write songs for a notional assembly. But things haven’t gone to plan and after last week’s odd country waltz, this one sounds like a children’s song, albeit one that would require the children to learn what intercedes means.
By the way I’m open for comments, suggestions, criticisms and letting me know where I have subconsciously lifted tunes from other songs.
Verse 1
When words cannot express. (Pray properly)
When friends can’t ease distress. (Pray properly)
God knows what’s in our hearts.
God knows just what we mean.
So the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness
to pray properly.
Verse 2
Our God is always there. (Pray properly)
Our God will always care. (Pray properly)
God knows what’s in our hearts.
God knows just what we mean.
So the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness
to pray properly.
Bridge
Sighs too deep for words.
Sighs too deep for words.
The Spirit intercedes
with sighs too deep for words.
Verse 3
God hears when we repent. (Pray properly)
We feel the grace he sent. (Pray properly)
God knows what’s in our hearts.
God knows just what we mean.
So the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness
to pray properly.
© Geoffrey Madden 2014
Sheet Music: Pray Properly
Pray Properly by Geoffrey Madden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
I’m not sure that I agree that ” the last thing anyone needs is another amateur musician writing songs for church”.
It’s been fascinating looking back at the materials which “folk” orientated musicians, often without formal training, have produced since the 1960s. Much of this material has faded into obscurity. Just like many hymns from older period did. But some – often the surprising pieces – have lasted.
And even if you never compose a masterpiece, I’m convinced that the process of arranging music helps you to better understand how to choose from music provided by other people.